When I was a kid growing up, I lived in a little rural village called Woolton Hill, and the nearest town was Newbury. No bands played anywhere near us, so as much as I wanted to be on the grid and in the loop, I never was.
I think I knew acting was what I wanted to do. But I was from this small town and there was no place for an adult to recognise it.
I think in small towns like this one, whether you're a man or a woman, you basically do what there is to do.
Growing up in a small town gives you two things: a sense of place and a feeling of self-consciousness - self-consciousness about one's education and exposure, both of which tend to be limited. On the other hand, limited possibilities also mean creating your own options.
Being from a small town, no one else was going to breathe life into my ideas other than me, so I had to go out there and do it.
Telling people that I wanted to make dance music, or be on the radio, they looked at me like I was crazy because there was nothing like that in Lichtenstein when I was getting started. That's why I went to Germany, because there is industry there.
I am not part of that earlier Australian generation who set off on a deliberate search for fame and fortune in distant lands. My generation was the first that didn't need to. By the 1980's when I left home, our culture had grown deep enough and wide enough to encompass all but the most rarefied of ambitions.
I had this little piece of me that always wanted to be an actress, but I would never say it out loud because it was kind of embarrassing because where in San Jose do you become an actress? You don't, really. It was very far-fetched. It was similar to me saying, 'I want to be a princess.'
I've always had an affinity for the fashion industry - I've always been drawn to it. But I grew up in Calgary in Canada, which, being a fairly isolated city, is not particularly known for having anything to do with fashion.
Starting in Greece, you couldn't really say, 'I'm going to become a film-maker.' A 15-year-old boy in Greece in the '80s and '90s? There was nothing like that happening.
I believe it is time for me to begin a new chapter in my life by spending more time with my family and exploring new opportunities here at home in Arkansas.
I wasn't one of those kids who was like, 'I want to be an actor.' It wasn't in my wheelhouse at all. I wasn't from a family that did this or in a place where people did this.
I'm a New Yorker. My background is in theater, so staying here, I have the opportunity to get back to that, which I would love to do.
Everybody always thinks you have to move out of the city and go where the music industry is, but it's possible in Louisville, and it's possible anywhere. You just have to believe.
Capitalism would have never let me be a filmmaker, living in Flint, Michigan with a high school education. I was going to have to make that happen myself.
My father wanted me to go to France, U.S. or Japan to study. I told him I wouldn't go anywhere, I'd stay in Cameroon and do my music with my friends. He said that the devil was in me and called a priest to remove it. I was the only guy who didn't want to go to Europe - he thought I was crazy.
